Spiritual Activism and Political Solidarity in So Far from God and Mother Tongue: Two Views by Two Authors
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 7-1-2020 Spiritual Activism and Political Solidarity in So Far From God and Mother Tongue: Two Views By Two Authors Jean Paul Russo Florida International University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the American Literature Commons, Chicana/o Studies Commons, Latin American History Commons, Latina/o Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Russo, Jean Paul, "Spiritual Activism and Political Solidarity in So Far From God and Mother Tongue: Two Views By Two Authors" (2020). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4461. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4461 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida SPIRITUAL ACTIVISM AND POLITICAL SOLIDARITY IN SO FAR FROM GOD AND MOTHER TONGUE: TWO VIEWS BY TWO AUTHORS A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in ENGLISH by Jean Paul Russo 2020 To: Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts, Sciences and Education This thesis, written by Jean Paul Russo, and entitled Spiritual Activism and Political Solidarity in So Far From God and Mother Tongue: Two Views By Two Authors, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Anna Luszczynska _______________________________________ Michael Grafals _______________________________________ Anne Castro, Major Professor Date of Defense: July 1, 2020 The thesis of Jean Paul Russo is approved. _______________________________________ Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts, Sciences and Education _______________________________________ Andrés G. Gil Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Dean of the University Graduate School ii ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SPIRITUAL ACTIVISM AND POLITICAL SOLIDARITY IN SO FAR FROM GOD AND MOTHER TONGUE: TWO VIEWS BY TWO AUTHORS by Jean Paul Russo Florida International University, 2020 Miami, Florida Professor Anne Castro, Major Professor This thesis focuses on the intersection between spirituality and political action in the works of two Latinx authors, Demetria Martinez and Ana Castillo. Building on Gloria Anzaldua’s theories of trauma, narrative, and what she terms ‘conocimiento,’ I contend that the novels So Far From God, and Mother Tongue, present an alternative approach to political action that is derived from a common experience of suffering and trauma as experienced by Latina communities. The political actions in the two novels and the ideas which inspire those actions, are born out of a need for solidarity between individuals, and are founded upon the idea that politics ought to be inspired by the spiritual lives and beliefs of individuals, as it is a central aspect of their identity. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE CHAPTER 1 1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Section 1 Ana Castillo’s So Far From God .........................................................................4 Part 1: Solidarity Through Shared Spiritual Experience ..........................................4 Part 2: Healing the Wound: Trauma, Healing, and Identity Formation ..................9 Part 3: Spiritual Activism: Politics Inspired by Faith ............................................14 CHAPTER 2 19 Section 1 Demetria Martinez’s Mother Tongue ................................................................19 Part 1: Hybrid Spirituality: Mary’s Evolving Spiritual Identity ............................20 Part 2: Narrative As a Healing Practice .................................................................24 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................28 Works Cited .......................................................................................................................30 iv Spiritual Activism and Political Solidarity in So Far From God and Mother Tongue: Two Views By Two Authors Spirituality and religion hold a prominent role in LatinX literature.1 The spiritual beliefs and practices within LatinX communities are often a means through which these communities are able to comprehend and make meaning of their lived experiences. Through the exploration of spiritual and religious knowledge which many LatinX communities have incorporated into their communal, and ethnic identities, they are able to relate and connect with one another despite national, gender, and economic differences. Although there has been a historical shift towards a scientific, and secular mode of thought as being the more accurate way of interpreting reality, there is a growing and renewed interest in how spiritual beliefs are able to resist dominant European models of thinking which have in effect worked to elevate the status - and knowledge - of certain groups of people while invalidating the knowledge and truths of others (517, The Sacred). Within the growing volume of LatinX literature, Latina authors are increasingly exploring how spiritual beliefs and practices are vital towards inspiring alternative modes of political thought and social activism that contends for the rights, representation and liberation of marginalized communities. While issues concerning race, gender, and social inequality are prominent within LatinX literature, there is also a strong focus on how religion informs the way that the aforementioned issues are discussed, understood and interpreted. As academia and the scientific fields have moved further away from acknowledging the importance of 1 Gustavo Perez Firmat in discussing what LatinX literature teaches non-latino readers about Latino culture describes: “And what does Latino literature teach? For the most part, what readers already know, or think they know, about Latinos, Latinas, and Latin Americans: That they are… somewhat mysterious, very sensuous, and definitely spiritual” (Tongue Ties 140) 1 religious traditions and knowledge to the development of societal structures, the field of LatinX literature is continuing to produce discourse which takes these phenomena into account as it questions how our modern political systems have been inspired by traditional religious thought. In Activism and the American Novel: Religion and Resistance in Fiction by Women of Color, Channette Romero examines a series of books written by women of color that use spiritually inspired politics and relations to advocate for social justice. Romero explains that “the growing inclusion of women of color’s religions and spirituality in their fiction, and their link to political activism, has not yet been fully examined, both because of the newness of this emerging literature and because of the limitations of our scholarly approaches”(19). Due to enlightenment-era, and scientifically inspired approaches to constructing modes of understanding reality and knowledge, there are limitations to modern scholarly traditions which include the process of invalidating other forms of knowledge that have been beneficial for pre-colonial, and non-European societies in the past2. While Channette Romero discusses various areas of literary and religious studies concerning the spiritually-inspired literature of Women of color, my thesis focuses on a specific facet of what Romero calls women’s resistance literature. Romero explores writing by women of color from both African American backgrounds and Latin American backgrounds. In contrast, I focus on the writings of three women within the 2 Gloria Anzaldua describes a shift from rational and scientific based knowledge to a system of understanding which is based on spiritual, and mythic ways of knowing. She states: “Many are witnessing a major cultural shift in their understanding of what knowledge consists of and how we come to know , a shift from the kinds of knowledge valued now to the kinds that will be desired in the twenty-first century, a shift away from knowledge contributing both to military and corporate technologies and to the colonization of our lives…, to the inner exploration of the meaning and purpose of life. You attribute this shift to the feminization of knowledge, one beyond the subject-object divide, a way of knowing and acting on ese saber you call ‘conocimiento.’ Skeptical of reason and rationality, conocimiento questions conventional knowledge’s current categories, classifications, and contents.”(119) 2 LatinX field of literary studies: Gloria Anzaldua’s spiritual philosophy in Light in the Dark: Rewriting Identity, Spirituality, Reality, Ana Castillo’s novel So Far From God, and Demetria Martinez’s novel Mother Tongue. I approach these LatinX texts in an effort to highlight the importance of creating alternative forms of political thought and social action that are based not solely on the physical, and tangible aspects of the lived experiences of lower economic communities, but on the belief systems which create alternative political movements which